
Pune Rural Police’s Local Crime Branch on Friday arrested self-styled ‘godman’ Manohar Bhosale alias Manohar Mama from a village in Satara district.
Bhosale was earlier booked for allegedly cheating one Shashikant Subhash Kharat (23), a resident of Baramati, by assuring to cure his father, who was suffering from cancer, in return for Rs 2.5 lakh.
Police said Bhosale had set up his ashrams in Baramati in Pune district and Karmala in Solapur district by claiming to be a ‘godman’.
Kharat, whose father was suffering from cancer, had contacted Bhosale for help. Bhosale allegedly assured that he will cure Kharat’s father by using his ‘powers’. He then took nearly Rs 2.5 lakh in different instalments from Kharat in the last couple of years. When Kharat demanded his money back, Bhosale and his aides allegedly threatened to kill him.
Bhosale has also been named in a case of rape filed in the Solapur district.